Saturday, 5 May 2012

Simply Divine Things has been nominated!

Hi all. Well have I got some news for everyone this week, and I've got the challenging task of fitting it all in without writing a massive essay! I have been so busy every day, and I apologise that my blog is late up.

I'll start with the best news of the week. Simply Divine Things has been nominated to win the Great Britain Great 2012 award. To give you an idea of how huge this is, other people nominated are JLS and One Direction (obviously in a different category). We have two "Greats". The company and the wall tiles. Please help us to won by voting for us. The company link is http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/simply-divine-things and the tile link is http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/simply-divine-tiles. Voting is free and really easy. If you have a Facebook account you don't even have to register, just a couple of clicks. I will really appreciate your help.

Next piece of news I simply must share is that I received an amazing delivery yesterday. I had ordered in some new fabrics from Clarke and Clarke and they are amazing!

I've got Abigail in slate blue and sage. This has a "hand painted" floral print on it and that's why it caught my eye. This style is really in this season for homewares and it makes fantastic pictures. It's girly and homely and it really reaches the shabby chic expectations without even batting an eyelid. Watch this space for wall tiles coming in this design soon.

Then I ordered some more Bird Trail in chintz, seafoam and grey. By far the most popular design I sell for pictures and wall tiles and it's easy to see why. It's got so much going on in the print and an array of carefully coordinated colours.

I made a picture from the Bird Trail in seafoam and I also ordered in Scotties in taupe/duckegg for a picture too. They both look amazing and Scotties has just gone up in the favorite ranks.

Last of all, I decided to get a classic into my collection with English Rose in Chintz. I adore this timeless print. It's so pretty and I can't wait to make a picture with it. I will be making wall tiles with it too.

In made this week I have completed a fully stuffed 12" x 12" Peppa Pig one. It has a lovely picture of George the Pirate, and again, it's all hand sewn. All this hand sewing has greatly improved my speed and accuracy to the point that my mum thought this cushion was machine sewn!
In the pipeline this week, I still have the bits and bobs cushion (that baby is time consuming!), and some more cushions in different designs.

With regard to shopping, I've not done masses, other than business related. I ordered a ears Thomas the Tank Engine train, Hiro from a seller on Ebay. I have searched high and low for this train but I jumped (literally not physically!) for joy when I got it at an absolute bargain price.
I also picked up what I thought was another bargain on Ebay. 1kg of cushion stuffing from Treeline Products UK for £7.99 including delivery. Not only cheap but it was advertised to be the best you could get with a lovely bouncy feel. It is rock hard and lumpy. Not suitable for stuffing anything. Of course I messaged the seller to tell of my dismay. Another typical Ebay seller who doesn't care if they have an unhappy customer. Three days in and I have still not had a reply. Clearly not going to sort out their misleading sales patter then. A complete waste of £7.99.

I have bought some fabric in black and red with a flower print to make a bespoke coaster order. The fabric required was only available in pre-cut 4" squares and that has made me think more about patchworking, especially after the success of my two Thomas cushions. I have lots of other fabrics to make cushions from first though!

That's it for this week, short but sweet. I'm off to do some more work on the bits and bobs cushion and get a picture made from the Clarke and Clarke English Rose. Enjoy your weekend!